Optical detection of the susceptibility tensor in two-dimensional crystals
Abstract The out-of-plane optical constants of two-dimensional materials have proven to be experimentally elusive. Owing to the reduced dimensionality of a monolayer, optical measurements have limited sensitivity to these properties, which are hidden by the optical response of the substrate. Therefore, there remains an absence of scientific consensus on how to correctly model these materials. Theoretical descriptions span from isotropic three-dimensional slabs to two-dimensional surface currents with a null out-of-plane surface susceptibility. Here we perform a smoking gun experiment on the optical response of a single-layer two-dimensional crystal that addresses these problems. We successfully remove the substrate contribution to the optical response of these materials by a step deposition of a monolayer crystal inside a thick polydimethylsiloxane prism. This allows for a reliable determination of both the in-plane and the out-of-plane components of the monolayer surface susceptibility tensor. Our results prescribe one clear theoretical model for these types of material. This work creates opportunities for a precise characterization of the optical properties of two-dimensional crystals in all the optical domains such as the nonlinear response, surface wave phenomena or magneto-optical Kerr effect. Our assay will be relevant to future progresses in photonics and optoelectronics with 2D materials.